One-armed amateur golfer Laurent Hurtubise won the hearts of golf fans everywhere when he made a hole-in-one at the American Express.
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Laurent Hurtubise is 61 years old, but this week at the American Express pro-am in the California desert, the Canadian amateur said that he feels much more like 17.
That feeling began Thursday when Hurtubise, who was born without a right hand or forearm, made a hole-in-one on the 151-yard par-3 No. 4 at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif.
He used a six-iron and his tee shot dropped near the front of the green and rolled directly to the pin and fell into the hole. He threw his hat and left arm into the air in celebration.
Tour pro Greg Chalmers played in the group and witnessed the shot.
“We all went up in celebration and Laurent went ballistic and maybe let out a few choice words,” Chalmers said, according to Golf Channel. “But who could blame him? It was an incredible shot.”
So incredible, in fact, that it caught national attention and was ESPN’s top play on the nightly SportsCenter Top 10 countdown. Hurtubise concluded the day with a round of drinks at a local club, still reveling in the moment hours later.
“It was hard playing today,” Hurtubise said with a chuckle Friday at La Quinta Country Club. “Everyone congratulating and everything, so it was hard staying in the moment.”
Paired with pros Tyler McCumber and Nelson Ledesma on Friday, Hurtubise still finished his second round with a five-under 67 and sits tied for 96th on the pro-am leader board after two days.
He’ll play the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course on Saturday.
Hurtubise played with Chalmers and pro Troy Merritt on Thursday, and both were floored that an amateur with one arm could make a hole in one on the PGA Tour.
“That was the coolest experience I’ve had on the golf course,” Merritt told PGATour.com.
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Hurtubise said that Merritt privately told him that he was an inspiration to him and that the moment made his week.
It was amateur playing partner Joe Pusateri, though, who inspired the shot. Hurtubise said he watched Pusateri eagle the third hole and that made him want to try to eagle on the fourth. His caddie told him to use the six-iron for a fade that would land about 10 feet in front of the hole.
Hurtubise gave it a try.
Amateur golfer Laurent Hurtubise putts on the 8th green at the La Quinta Country Club during round two of the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, Calif., on Friday, January 17, 2020. (Taya Gray/The Desert Sun)
“So, I hit a fade and it landed about five or six yards on the green and it rolled about 15 yards to the pin,” said Hurtubise, who perfected his one-handed forehand swing playing hockey, baseball and golf for much of his life. “I heard ‘clunk’ and it disappeared. That was it.
“It was incredible.”
This is the seventh time Hurtubise has played here at this event. He skipped last year and made a snap decision to play here again about a month ago.
Hurtubise took some time off from the sales retention business he runs, and he and his girlfriend caught a flight down here on Jan. 11. Five days later, he recorded the swing of his life.
Hurtubise said he likes the courses down here because they play a little like his home course, with open fairways, greens that aren’t too elevated and bunkers that aren’t too deep.
In 50 years of playing, Hurtubise said that it was his third hole-in-one. But, he noted, this was clearly the best of the three. He called it the hole-in-one of his career — one he won’t soon forget.
“You know, during the tournament, on the Stadium Course,” Hurtubise marveled.
Sgt. Ben Ramirez of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Phil Mickelson have history in PGA Tour tournaments.
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When Phil Mickelson strides to the tee box at The American Express, the usual suspects are there around him: His caddie, his three playing partners and their caddies, a person to keep the official score.
But there’s another man who has become a fixture with Mickelson in the desert over the years: Sgt. Ben Ramirez of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. He’s the one in the camo colors, sheriff’s outfit, tactical vest, gun on his hip.
“I’m just out here to keep the peace, be a visible presence,” said Ramirez who has been working this event since 2000 and has been with Phil Mickelson’s group 12 or 13 times. “We don’t ever have too much trouble here in the valley with golf crowds. No real criminal incidents.
“Back when they didn’t allow cell phones and cameras, the marshals were dealing with that all the time and sometimes they would ask for assistance. Escorting someone off the course because their pass is being revoked. Just some people being overly intoxicated. Thankfully, nothing major has really happened out here, but if something did we’re prepared to handle it.”
Not every pro golfer here has a sheriff walking around with them, just the high-profile ones. In fact, this week on Thursday and Friday, only Mickelson and Rickie Fowler are accompanied by an officer.
When a PGA tournament comes to town, the PGA’s security works hand in hand with local law enforcement. They plan out the number of officers needed for things such as parking and traffic and general security, and which players may require extra attention.
Ramirez has been lucky enough to draw the assignment of walking the course with Mickelson multiple times. Well “lucky” isn’t quite the right word.
“It’s not by accident,” said Ramirez, who has lived in the desert for 26 years. “The truth is most deputies don’t golf, aren’t fans of golf, don’t want to walk around with all this stuff on. And they know I like to do it, so I’ve been fortunate that most sergeants over the years have allowed me to keep doing it.”
Ramirez is pretty much tied to Mickelson for the entire day. When Mickelson is on the putting green, Ramirez is near the putting green. When Mickelson is on the driving range, Ramirez is near the driving range. And then he walks with Mickelson’s group for all 18 holes.
He and Phil have developed a rapport over the years.
“I mean, he’s not inviting me over for dinner or anything,” Ramirez joked. “But he remembers me and is very cordial and professional. Some guys like to shoot the breeze and others, hey they’re very focused and very into their game. And I get that. This is their livelihood. I’m not expecting them to be all buddy-buddy. They’ve got a job to do and so do it.”
Ramirez did share one special moment between he and Phil after the 2007 event.
That was the year the tournament was played at the Classic Club and Mickelson — with Ramirez alongside — shot a final-round 78 and was frustrated by the windy location and the tournament in general. Sensing that this could be the last time they saw each other, Ramirez wanted to say thanks and goodbye so he found Mickelson out in the parking lot as he was leaving.
“Up to that point, I had taken a few pictures with him, and he had given me an autographed glove before, but I just went out to say goodbye, and as I was walking away, he said ‘Hey Ben, hold on,’ ” Ramirez recalled. “And then he reached into the trunk of his car, pulled out a flag from the 2007 Masters and signed it and wrote ‘To Ben, thanks for all your help.’ I was taken aback. Completely unsolicited. It was fantastic.”
Ramirez has the flag framed and hanging at his house.
“Not everyone on tour is a genuine good guy, like when the cameras aren’t on them,” Ramirez said. “But Phil is, and that’s why I like to work with him. It’s no secret why he is a fan favorite.”
Like Ramirez said, only Mickelson and Rickie Fowler have a specific sheriff assigned to them. The final two groups Sunday will likely also have a sheriff with them.
Ramirez said back in the day when this tournament had celebrities a lot more officers were deployed to walk with those groups.
“Your Samuel L. Jacksons, your George Lopezes, people like that, the celebrities often require it because they may have like a stalker-type person they’ve had problems with or, just in general, people out there to see the celebrities may not understand the rules and etiquette of golf,” Ramirez said.
For his day-to-day responsibilities, Ramirez is a sergeant with the homicide unit, a detective supervisor for a unit that has four sergeants and 20 detectives.
But for a few days a year, he’s happy being Lefty’s right-hand man.
“It’s really neat for me to still be able to do this. It’s a nice change of pace and scenery,” he said. “Phil is turning 50 this year and so am I, so we’re both nearing retirement. … But I think he’ll probably be golfing longer than I’ll be doing this.”
Check out fantasy golf power rankings for the American Express, where Tony Finau and Phil Mickelson are among stars in the field.
The PGA Tour returns to mainland USA this week for The American Express in La Quinta, California.
The tournament (called the Desert Classic last year) is played over three courses — TPC Stadium Course at PGA West, PGA West Nicklaus Tournament Course and La Quinta Country Club. It runs as a pro-am with a 54-hole cut before the remaining professionals tee it up on the Stadium Course for Sunday’s final round.
The American Express Fantasy Golf Rankings: Top 30
Sungjae Im. (Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 American Express.
30. Jason Dufner
The 2016 champion missed the cut last year, and he has slipped all the way to No. 265 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he has fared very well on Pete Dye courses over his career.
29. Sebastian Munoz
Munoz missed the cut last week at the Sony Open in Hawaii. It came just two events after his third-place finish at the RSM Classic. He had another strong putting performance last week and his weaker tee-to-green game will be mitigated here with all three courses shorter than 7,200 yards.
28. Brendon Todd
Already a two-time winner in 2019-20, Todd continued his climb in the OWGR with a T-21 result last week and now sits at No. 58. He hasn’t played this event since back-to-back missed cuts in 2015 and ’16.
27. Nick Taylor
Taylor has a strong approach game, as seen in his 1.27 Strokes Gained: Approach per round last week, according to Data Golf. He lost nearly a half-stroke per round putting, and an average performance would allow him to contend.
Cameron Davis. (Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
26. Cameron Davis
Davis was the 36-hole co-leader last week in Hawaii en route to a T-9 result. His driver was a big part of his performance, but it won’t be as valuable at the shorter courses this week.
25. Brendan Steele
Last week’s runner-up, Steele gained 1.49 strokes per round putting. That sort of success on the greens is rarely replicated week-to-week, but he also gained 1.61 strokes on approach and is worth a shot while he’s hot.
24. Jason Kokrak
Kokrak finished T-8 in 2018 and T-18 last year. The 64th-ranked golfer in the world missed just two cuts in 24 events last year and is a safe pick with a guaranteed 54 holes of play.
23. Alex Noren
Noren has made nine straight cuts in worldwide events. He’s coming off a T-32 finish last week despite losing 0.95 strokes per round with the flat stick.
22. Rory Sabbatini
Sabbatini has made three straight cuts in La Quinta, with last year’s T-57 finish his best result in that span. He missed the cut just once since last July.
21. Bud Cauley
Cauley has averaged 2.01 strokes gained per round on the Stadium Course, more than anyone else in this week’s field. He missed the cut last year, but a T-3 result in 2017 was sandwiched by T-14 showings in 2016 and ’18.
20. Billy Horschel
Horschel hasn’t played here since missing the cut in 2016. He already has two top 10s early in the 2019-20 PGA Tour season and has one of the best resumes in this week’s weaker field.
19. Cameron Champ
Champ took last week off after a T-14 finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The Safeway Open champ makes his debut at this event.
18. Brian Harman
Harman ranks second to Cauley in Strokes Gained at the Stadium Course among those in the field with a minimum of six rounds played. He used a well-balanced game to pick up a T-32 finish last week.
17. J.T. Poston
The Postman missed the cut last week, as he lost 1.26 strokes per round on approach. He’ll look to rebound at an event where he finished T-7 in 2019.
16. Kevin Na
Na skipped last year’s tournament, but he hadn’t missed the cut in any of his previous four appearances. He had a top showing of T-3 in 2016. He’s incredibly strong in proximity to the pin on approach shots from 100-125 yards. With many of the par 4s on all three courses ranging between 350-400 yards, he’ll have plenty of his favorite shots.
Russell Knox. (Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
15. Russell Knox
Knox was third among those to make the cut last week with 1.47 strokes gained per round on approach. He was T-18 here last year following a T-29 in 2018.
14. Lucas Glover
Glover’s a regular contender in La Quinta with three top-20 showings in his last five appearances. His strong approach game sets up plenty of scoring chances at these shorter venues.
13. Phil Mickelson
The new co-host of this event, Lefty was a co-runner-up last year. He has slipped to No. 79 in the world entering this week, but he’s still a safe choice at these familiar courses.
12. Chez Reavie
Reavie had a rare missed cut last week. He has gained 1.45 strokes per round over eight career rounds on the Stadium Course, and he can create scoring chances.
11. Abraham Ancer
Ancer tied for 18th last year after finishing 76th in 2018. He gained 0.93 strokes per round on approach last week on his way to a T-38 finish.
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10. Matthew Wolff
Wolff played just the first of the two events in Hawaii, picking up a T-11 result in his first Tournament of Champions. The PGA Tour sophomore has been struggling on his approach shots, but he’s very strong off the tee and on the greens.
Francesco Molinari. (Photo Credit: Ian Rutherford – USA TODAY Sports)
9. Francesco Molinari
The odds may be stacked against the Italian Stallion, as only five non-Americans have won this event. He strung together a stretch of T-10, T-62 and T-12 from 2015 through ’17 before skipping the event the last two years.
8. Charles Howell III
Howell’s yet another course horse very familiar with all three tracks. He has collected three top-20 showings in his last five appearances, and he’s coming off a solid T-12 result last week.
7. Tony Finau
Finau’s the top golfer in the field from the OWGR (15), but he’s playing his first full-field PGA Tour event since the Mayakoba Golf Classic. He was fifth in last week’s Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour.
6. Byeong Hun An
An makes his debut at the event formerly known as the Desert Classic and CareerBuilder Challenge. He hasn’t participated in a tournament since early November’s WGC-HSBC Champions, but he already has three top 10s on the 2019-20 season.
5. Paul Casey
Similarly to Molinari, Finau and some of the other top-ranked golfers in the field, Casey may struggle to get up for this event as he looks ahead to next week’s Farmers Insurance Open. He hasn’t played in La Quinta since a T-58 result in 2017.
Scottie Scheffler. (Photo Credit: Ray Carlin – USA TODAY Sports)
4. Scottie Scheffler
We haven’t seen Scheffler, a recent Korn Ferry Tour graduate, since a T-5 showing at the RSM Classic. He has three top 10s and two top 5s early in his PGA Tour season.
3. Rickie Fowler
Fowler skipped last week’s event following a T-5 finish at the TOC. He’s well worth backing ahead of his defense of the Waste Management Phoenix Open during Super Bowl week.
2. Kevin Kisner
Kis made the cut here each of the last three years but with a top showing of just T-25 in 2017. He finished T-4 last week while gaining 1.32 strokes per round on approach and losing 0.23 strokes putting. Nine of the last 10 champions here played in Hawaii the week before.
1. Sungjae Im
Im finished T-21 last week while picking up 0.84 strokes per round on the putting surfaces. He was T-12 in his La Quinta debut last year and is still looking for his first PGA Tour win.
Here are the odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets for The American Express.
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The PGA Tour is in La Quinta, Calif. this week for The American Express. Tony Finau, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari and Rickie Fowler highlight those in the field for the event hosted by Phil Mickelson. Below, we look at the best PGA Tour bets to win the 2020 American Express.
The event is played on three courses and features a 54-hole cut. All courses are par 72. The key stats for the week are:
Strokes Gained: Approach
Par 4 Efficiency: 350-400 Yards
Opportunities Gained
Proximity: 100-125 Yards
Pay added attention to golfer success on Dye-designed courses with Bermuda greens.
Im debuted at this event with a T-12 result last year. He enters the week 35th in the Official World Golf Ranking following last week’s T-21 finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii. He’s still looking for his first PGA Tour victory and will be one of the more motivated golfers in a rather weak early-season field.
Kevin Kisner (+2800)
Kisner enters the week as the sixth-best golfer in the field by the OWGR measure, but he’s seventh by the odds at BetMGM, representing moderate value for the three-time PGA Tour champ. He made the cut here each of the previous three years, but with a top finish of T-25 (2017). Only four golfers who made the cut last week gained more strokes per round on approach than Kisner’s 0.85.
The American Express – Tier 2
(Photo Credit: Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports)
Chez Reavie (+6000)
Reavie’s coming off a missed cut last week in Hawaii, but he made the weekend each of the last four years in La Quinta. His best finish was a T-12 in 2017. The 37th-ranked golfer in the world ranks third in the field in Opportunities Gained on Pete Dye courses with Bermuda greens.
Cauley leads this week’s field with 2.01 strokes gained per round over seven rounds played on the Stadium Course in La Quinta, according to Data Golf. He missed the cut last week in his first event since a T-9 finish at the Houston Open. He was T-3 here in 2017 with T-14 finishes in 2016 and 2018 before missing the weekend last year.
The American Express – Longshots
(Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
Cameron Davis (+10000)
Davis finished T-9 at 7-under par in Hawaii last week. It was a Saturday round of 71 which was the difference for the 36-hole co-leader. He averaged 0.85 strokes gained per round on approach, but it was his 2.00 SG per round tee-to-green which had him contending. Davis finished T-28 here a year ago.
Doc Redman (+12500)
Redman’s worth a roll of the dice as our deepest shot for the week with a $10 bet returning a profit of $1,250 with a tournament win. He missed the cut last week for his third MC in nine events to begin the 2019-20 PGA Tour season, but his runner-up finish at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic was in a much stronger field than the one slated to tee off this week.
Complete odds
Player
Odds
Rickie Fowler
+1200
Sungjae Im
+1800
Paul Casey
+2200
Tony Finau
+2500
Byeong Hun An
+2800
Charles Howell III
+2800
Scottie Scheffler
+2800
Kevin Kisner
+3000
Billy Horschel
+3300
Cameron Champ
+3300
Abraham Ancer
+4000
Brendon Todd
+4000
Brian Harman
+4000
Francesco Molinari
+4000
Jason Kokrak
+4000
Matthew Wolff
+4000
Phil Mickelson
+4000
Alex Noren
+4500
J.T. Poston
+4500
Vaughn Taylor
+4500
Harris English
+5000
Russell Knox
+5000
Ryan Moore
+5000
Chez Reavie
+6000
Kevin Na
+6000
Rory Sabbatini
+6000
Andrew Putnam
+6600
Brendan Steele
+6600
Bud Cauley
+6600
Daniel Berger
+6600
Denny McCarthy
+6600
Lucas Glover
+6600
Sebastián Muñoz
+6600
Zach Johnson
+6600
Aaron Wise
+8000
Cameron Tringale
+8000
Carlos Ortiz
+8000
Danny Lee
+8000
Adam Long
+9000
Nate Lashley
+9000
Austin Cook
+10000
Brian Stuard
+10000
Cameron Davis
+10000
Harold Varner III
+10000
Henrik Norlander
+10000
Nick Taylor
+10000
Scott Piercy
+10000
Talor Gooch
+10000
Beau Hossler
+12500
Bo Hoag
+12500
Brian Gay
+12500
C.J. Trahan
+12500
Doc Redman
+12500
Harry Higgs
+12500
Kramer Hickok
+12500
Kyle Stanely
+12500
Nick Watney
+12500
Richy Werenski
+12500
Russell Henley
+12500
Ryan Armour
+12500
Scott Stallings
+12500
Si Woo Kim
+12500
Stewart Cink
+12500
Tyler Duncan
+12500
Wyndham Clark
+12500
Aaron Baddeley
+15000
Bill Haas
+15000
Brice Garnett
+15000
Bronson Burgoon
+15000
Hudson Swafford
+15000
Jhonattan Vegas
+15000
Jimmy Walker
+15000
Kevin Chappell
+15000
Kevin Streelman
+15000
Matthew NeSmith
+15000
Max Homa
+15000
Michael Thompson
+15000
Peter Malnati
+15000
Sam Ryder
+15000
Scott Brown
+15000
Scott Harrington
+15000
Tom Hoge
+15000
Troy Merritt
+15000
Xinjun Zhang
+15000
Andrwe Landry
+17500
Patrick Rodgers
+17500
Zac Blair
+17500
Adam Schenk
+20000
Ben Martin
+20000
Charley Hoffman
+20000
Chase Seiffert
+20000
Chesson Hadley
+20000
David Hearn
+20000
Fabian Gomez
+20000
Grayson Murray
+20000
Hank Lebioda
+20000
Jason Dufner
+20000
Joseph Bramlett
+20000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee
+20000
Lucas Bjerregaard
+20000
Luke List
+20000
Mac Hughes
+20000
Maverick McNealy
+20000
Patton Kizzire
+20000
Rob Oppenheim
+20000
Robby Shelton
+20000
Roger Sloan
+20000
Seung-Yul Noh
+20000
Steve Stricker
+20000
Ted Potter Jr.
+20000
Anirban Lahiri
+25000
Cameron Percy
+25000
Chris Stroud
+25000
Greg Chalmers
+25000
James Hahn
+25000
Josh Teater
+25000
Mark Anderson
+25000
Mark Hubbard
+25000
Matt Every
+25000
Robert Streb
+25000
Sepp Straka
+25000
Tim Wilkinson
+25000
Ben Crane
+30000
Brandon Hagy
+30000
Doug Ghim
+30000
J.J. Spaun
+30000
John Huh
+30000
Kristoffer Ventura
+30000
Rhein Gibson
+30000
Ricky Barnes
+30000
Ryan Brehm
+30000
Sam Burns
+30000
Tyler McCumber
+30000
Ben Taylor
+40000
Chris Baker
+40000
Michael Gellerman
+40000
Sebastian Cappelen
+40000
Vincent Whaley
+40000
Akshay Bhatia
+50000
Hunter Mahan
+50000
Isaiah Salinda
+50000
Martin Trainer
+50000
Michael Gligic
+50000
Rafael Campos
+50000
Vince Covello
+50000
Brian Smock
+70000
Bo Van Pelt
+75000
John Senden
+75000
Mark Wilson
+75000
Nelson Ledesma
+75000
Kevin Stadler
+100000
Martin Laird
+175000
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Here are the live updates, scores and viewing information for the Sony Open in Hawaii.
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The PGA Tour has moved on to its second tournament of 2020.
Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii, will once again host the Sony Open. It’s the 55th consecutive year that Waialae has hosted a PGA Tour event, the fourth-longest streak.
Defending champ Matt Kuchar is back, aiming for a second Sony win in a row.
Last week’s winner Justin Thomas is the favorite this week after surviving a three-way playoff at the Sentry Tournament of Champions on Sunday for his 12th PGA Tour victory. He tees off on the 1st hole alongside Kuchar and Brendon Todd at 5:40 p.m. ET (12:40 p.m. local time) on Thursday.
Here are betting odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets for the Sony Open.
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This week’s Sony Open in Hawaii sees the PGA Tour’s first full-field event since the RSM Classic in late November. The 7,044-yard, par-70 Waialae Country Club hosts the tournament yet again in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The key stats for this week are:
Strokes Gained: Approach
Bogey Avoidance
Good Drives Gained
Eagles Gained
Strokes Gained: Par 4s
My model at Fantasy National is set to the most recent 36 rounds for each golfer in the field played on par-70 courses under 7,200 yards in length and featuring Bermuda grass greens.
Simpson leads my stat model and is the best in the field in both SG: Approach and SG: Par 4s. He’s third in the field with an Official World Golf Ranking of No. 12, and he shares the second-best odds with Patrick Reed. The five-time PGA Tour champ didn’t play here last year, but he was T-4 in 2018 and T-13 each of the three previous three years.
Marc Leishman (+4500)
Leishman tied for third here a year ago, and he hasn’t finished worse than T-47 in any of his last five tries. He ranks seventh in the field by the OWGR measure, but he’s 13th by the odds at BetMGM. He’s a good value pick following last year’s top finish and a solo third at the Safeway Open in September early in his 2019-20 campaign.
Sony Open – Tier 2
(Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
J.T. Poston (+5000)
Poston is coming off a T-11 finish in the 30-man field at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions. He has missed just one cut in nine events since vaulting into the top 100 of the OWGR with his first career win at last season’s Wyndham Championship. He leads the field in Bogey Avoidance, and he ranks seventh in Good Drives Gained and fourth in SG: Par 4s.
Sabbatini is one of many in the field returning to competitive play for the first time since the RSM Classic. He’s coming off a 2019 calendar year in which he had six top 10s against just four missed cuts for his most successful season since his last PGA Tour win in 2011 at The Honda Classic. This is a similarly short venue, and he’s made the cut in four of his last five appearances with a T-6 result in 2015.
Sony Open – Longshots
(Photo Credit: John David Mercer – USA TODAY Sports)
Luke List (+15000)
List didn’t play this event last year following a missed cut in 2018, but he did finish T-13 in 2017. He enters the week ranked 145th in the world following three missed cuts to start his 2019-20 season, but he did have two runners-up last year. He also finished second at the 2018 Honda Classic amid a stronger field.
Mackenzie Hughes (+25000)
Hughes isn’t much of a course fit (49th in Eagles Gained and 57th in SG: Approach), but this number is far too high for a former PGA Tour champ. A $1 sprinkle at these odds returns a profit of $250.
Complete odds
Player
Odds
Justin Thomas
+500
Webb Simpson
+1200
Robert Streb
+1500
Hideki Matsuyama
+1800
Collin Morikawa
+2000
Matt Kuchar
+2200
Sungjae Im
+2200
Anirban Lahiri
+2500
Peter Malnati
+2500
Ryuko Tokimatsu
+3000
Joaquin Neimann
+3300
Charles Howell III
+4000
Corey Conners
+4000
Alex Noren
+4500
Chez Reavie
+4500
Kevin Kisner
+4500
Marc Leishman
+4500
Abraham Ancer
+5000
Brandt Snedeker
+5000
Brendon Todd
+5000
Brian Harman
+5000
Cameron Smith
+5000
J.T. Poston
+5000
Sebastián Muñoz
+5000
Aaron Wise
+6600
Andrew Putnam
+6600
Brian Stuard
+6600
Carlos Ortiz
+6600
Lanto Griffin
+6600
Russell Knox
+6600
Ryan Palmer
+6600
Daniel Berger
+7000
Dylan Frittelli
+8000
Kevin Na
+8000
Kyle Stanley
+8000
Rory Sabbatini
+8000
Vaughn Taylor
+8000
Zach Johnson
+8000
Brian Gay
+9000
Emiliano Grillo
+9000
Keegan Bradley
+9000
Pat Perez
+9000
Brice Garnett
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Adam Long
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Harry Higgs
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Nick Taylor
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Charley Hoffman
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David Hearn
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Jason Dufner
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Kevin Tway
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Kramer Hichok
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Kyoung-Hoon Lee
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Luke List
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Robby Shelton
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Sam Burns
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Scott Brown
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Talor Gooch
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Zac Blair
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Hudson Swafford
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Matt Every
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Matthew NeSmith
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Scott Harrington
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Adam Schenk
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Andrew Landry
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Bo Hoag
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Hank Lebioda
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Mark Hubbard
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Roger Sloan
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Chase Seiffert
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Doug Ghim
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Will Gordon
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Satoshi Kodaira
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Chris Baker
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Mark Anderson
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Bo Van Pelt
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Colt Knost
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Kazuki Huga
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Martin Trainer
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Michael Gellerman
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Michael Gligic
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Parker McLachlin
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Smylie Kaufman
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Vijay Singh
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Alex Beach
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Tyler Ota
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Eric Dugas
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Here are the fantasy golf power rankings for the Sony Open.
[jwplayer CHzrwXfY-9JtFt04J]
A field of 140 golfers descends on Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii this week for the 2020 Sony Open. It’s the first full-field tournament since late November’s RSM Classic. Justin Thomas, who claimed his second victory of the 2019-20 PGA Tour season at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions is the top golfer from the Official World Golf Ranking in attendance at No. 4.
Fantasy Golf Rankings: Top 30
(Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 Sony Open in Hawaii at Waialae Country Club.
30. Zach Johnson
The former major champ hasn’t accomplished much of late, but the short venue (7,044 yards) suits his game. He was T-6 here in 2017 and T-9 in 2016.
29. Patton Kizzire
A winner in 2018, Kizzire followed it up with an adequate T-13 showing last year. He missed 15 cuts in 2019, but he’s still worth trusting in Honolulu.
28. Hudson Swafford
Two top 10s and no missed cuts in his last four appearances. The approach game is strong, he just needs to get there.
27. Kyle Stanley
Has slipped to No. 118 in the world after peaking at 26th in 2018. One of his five top 10s over the last two years came at Waialae.
(Photo Credit: Steve Flynn – USA TODAY Sports)
26. Keegan Bradley
Enters in woeful form since his co-runner-up finish at the 2019 Travelers Championship, but his best success has come on shorter tracks (like TPC River Highlands).
25. Sebastian Munoz
Munoz stood his ground at his first Sentry Tournament of Champions following a breakthrough win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He has been great off the tee and avoids trouble.
24. Brian Stuard
A true course horse with a T-8 and T-4 results in his last two visits to the Sony Open.
23. Shugo Imahira
Has a win, two runners-up and a third-place finish on the Japan Tour since mid-October to rocket up to No. 30 in the OWGR.
22. Brendon Todd
Todd fell back to Earth with a 29th-place finish in the more competitive 30-man TOC last week, but he still jumped 11 spots in the OWGR to 61st.
21. Kevin Na
Only Martin Trainer lost more strokes per round putting last week than Na’s 1.45. It’s usually a strong part of his game and can be expected to bounce back.
20. Russell Knox
One of the best in the field at avoiding trouble and taking bogeys. Has three top 20s in the last five years.
19. Emiliano Grillo
Winless since 2015, Grillo has slipped outside of the top 100 in the world since finishing T-41 at the Mayakoba Classic. He’ll rely on a strong approach game to set up birdies on the short par 4s.
(Photo Credit: Shanna Lockwood – USA TODAY Sports)
18. Alexander Noren
Makes his debut at this event, but has the driver to make a short course even shorter and give himself good angles into the greens.
17. Rory Sabbatini
Loves carding eagles and has the approach game needed to compete at Waialae.
16. Abraham Ancer
Had a T-8 at the Mayakoba and a T-4 at the WGC-HSBC Champions before shining for the International team at the Presidents Cup. Will be able to set himself up well off the tee.
15. Cameron Smith
Another Presidents Cup star for the losing side, Smith hasn’t missed the cut here in his last four tries. Can handle the par 4s but will need to make some eagles.
14. Joaquin Niemann
The Greenbrier champ picked up a surprising T-5 result at the TOC last week with a well-balanced game.
13. J.T Poston
Ranked third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting last week at the TOC and will look to keep the flat stick hot in Honolulu.
12. Corey Conners
Broke through with a T-3 result here last year after gaining entry as a Monday qualifier. He won’t need to rely on his shaky putter with his driver and irons dicing up the short course.
11. Chez Reavie
The best in the field in Strokes Gained: Approach and third in Eagles Gained and Good Drives Gained. Also tied for third a year ago.
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10. Brandt Snedeker
A runner-up in 2016, Sneds was T-16 last year. Hasn’t missed a cut in eight events since The Open.
(Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
9. Kevin Kisner
Will be able to score well with seven of the 12 par 4s coming in below 450 yards.
8. Charles Howell III
Two T-8 showings in his last three appearances here. He can take advantage of easy scoring opportunities.
7. Collin Morikawa
Will be playing in front of plenty of friends and family who call Maui home again this week. It helped him finish T-7 in his debut at the TOC last week.
6. Sungjae Im
Im hasn’t played competitively since a T-11 at the HSBC Champions. He was T-16 in his tournament debut last year.
5. Patrick Reed
Gained a ridiculous 2.33 strokes per round putting last week. His approach game was poor and it’ll need to be on point this week.
(Photo Credit: Kyle Terada – USA TODAY Sports)
4. Matt Kuchar
The defending champ tied for 14th last week. He’s a wiz on the par 4s.
3. Marc Leishman
Leish comes off a T-10 showing at the Australian Open. He’s another member of the tie for third last year.
2. Webb Simpson
Simpson leads my stat model at Fantasy National with best-in-show ranks in SG: Approach and SG: Par 4s. He didn’t play last year, but was T-4 in 2018 and T-13 in each of his three previous trips.
1. Justin Thomas
Three wins since mid-August all against stiffer competition than he’ll face this week. He’s well worth the price of admission.
The PGA of America honored Joanna Coe as the inaugural Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year on Tuesday.
The 2019 Omega PGA Professional, Senior and Women’s PGA Professional Players of the Year were announced Tuesday.
Ryan Vermeer was named the PGA Professional of the Year and Bob Sowards was named the Senior PGA Professional Player of the Year. Joanna Coe earned the honor of Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year.
Vermeer, a 41-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, is the PGA Director of Instruction at Happy Hollow Club in his hometown. Last year he won his third Nebraska PGA Section Championship and Nebraska PGA Player of the Year award. He tied for eighth at the PGA Professional Championship and tied for 80th at the PGA Championship. Vermeer was also on the United States’ PGA Cup winning team.
Sowards, 51, is PGA Director of Instruction at the Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club in Powell, Ohio, and won his sixth career PGA Professional Player of the Year award with this year’s honor. Last season, Sowards tied for 21st in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, tied for eighth in the Senior PGA Professional Championship and won the final event of the PGA Tournament Series in December.
Coe, winner of the inaugural Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year Award, is an assistant PGA Director of Instruction at Baltimore Country Club. In 2019, Coe, 30, won the 2019 PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship and was one of four women to play in the PGA Professional Championship in May. She finished T-51.
She also tied for fifth at the LPGA Teaching & Club Professionals National Championship and was a member of the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup team.
“To be included in some of the great history of the PGA of America and be the first Women’s PGA Professional Player of the Year is truly special,” Coe said in a statement. “It’s a highlight considering how long the PGA has been around and how important it is for the game of golf. It’s really cool; it’s something I will be proud of for the rest of my life.”
All three winners will be honored April 24 during the 53rd PGA Professional Championship at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin, Texas.
Aussie Cameron Smith pledges to donate $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for an eagle at this week’s Sony Open to start his PGA Tour year.
Cameron Smith’s performance at this week’s Sony Open will go toward helping the Australian wildfire relief effort.
The 26-year-old Aussie pledged he would donate $500 per birdie and $1,000 for each eagle made at the Sony Open at Waiʻalae Country Club in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Smith, who will make his first PGA Tour start of the year in Honolulu, encouraged his followers to also donate to the relief effort.
“Australia is burning, and I’m lost for words!” Smith wrote on Instagram Sunday. “Have personally had family members effected by the disaster, and it’s only the start of fire season. If anyone can donate, even the smallest amounts, clothes, blankets etc, it all counts… Everyone stay safe and my thoughts are with you!! Let’s make some birdies!
Since the bush fires began, millions of acres have burned. The areas affected are both residential and habitats for Australia’s wildlife. More than 20 people have died nationwide as of Monday and officials estimate nearly half a billion animals have been killed including a third of New South Wales’ koala population.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned Sunday the blazes could continue into late January or early February.
Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw finished a project at Kapalua, where thatch buildup had slowed the roll in the fairways.
The PGA Tour players in this week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions are in for a firm, fast and bouncy experience, the result of a nine-month renovation project to Kapalua’s Plantation Course that restored much of the original intent of designers Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw.
The debut course of that now-famous design duo opened in 1991, playing some 400 feet up the side of a mountain in Maui, Hawaii. The coastal course features wide fairways and dramatic slopes, with long views over Honolua and Mokuleia bays. The course has become a staple of the PGA Tour, blasting snow-bound golfers back on the mainland with views of sunshine, tropical breezes and the occasional breaching whale.
The Plantation Course played firm and fast for years, but the venerable track – rated No. 1 on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access layouts – had started to show its age. Thatch buildup had slowed the roll in the fairways, and regular maintenance and top-dressing of the greens had softened some contours and steepened others, leaving fewer reasonable locations for pin positions.
Coore and Crenshaw returned to start a project shortly after the 2019 Tournament of Champions to restore the firm conditions and recreate more hole locations on the greens. Working with management company Troon Golf, which operates the Kapalua courses, and with former golf professional and current Golf Channel personality Mark Rolfing, Coore and Crenshaw rebuilt the greens and bunkers, restored tees and re-grassed the entire property. The course reopened in November.
The second hole at Kapalua’s Plantation Course during restoration (Courtesy of Keith Rhebb)
The course routing is the same, but the fairways are now Celebration Bermuda grass and the greens are TifEagle Bermuda. The 93 bunkers also were rebuilt with a capillary concrete liner system to help handle heavy rains, with several bunkers being reduced in size while others were expanded, all with more natural shapes and edges.
Keith Rhebb, owner of Rhebb Golf Design and a frequent contractor who does course-shaping work for Coore and Crenshaw, spent about three months at Kapalua. Having worked on top-rated courses such as Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia, Streamsong Red in Florida and the soon-to-be-opened Sheep Ranch at Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Rhebb said the work at Kapalua was all intended to restore the original playing conditions, where wide fairways offered strategic options but also could play tighter because a golf ball might keep trundling along until it reached trouble.
“The biggest thing was, the ball wasn’t rolling in the fairways as much,” Rhebb said. “The length of the course, for (resort guests) coming to play, it was just getting way too difficult. It had more to do with the conditioning of the fairways – the thatch was slowing the ball down. With the new Bermuda grass, Celebration, it can get a better surface to it to get the firmness back in the fairways. They really de-thatched the fairways, got almost back to basically the dirt and sprigged right back into the fairways.”
Coore and Crenshaw’s assembled teams included Dave Axland, Jimbo Wright, Jeff Bradley and Riley Johns, as well as 15 to 20 contractors. The group faced tight deadlines to finish everything in time for this week’s Tournament of Champions, with frequent logistical and operational challenges tied to renovating a course on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
“You could really feel that pressure because there’s a hard date,” Rhebb said. “All kinds of things could have happened, created big issues. They were shipping in the grass sprigs from another island that were, I think, in refrigerated shipping trailers. There could have been one delay in a shipment, and everything would have been off. It took a lot of logistics and planning to make sure everything came together. …
“Andrew Rebman (Kapalua’s director of agronomy) and his crew pulled it all off, got everything grown in and ready, and kudos to them. I can’t even imagine the amount of pressure for them, having construction going on and having to wait on us before they could get to work, knowing they’re going to host a tournament that’s going to be on TV in January. Andrew, with his skill set, he’s going to have that place dialed in.”
A Sand Pro used to finish greens during the restoration of Kapalua’s Plantation Course (Courtesy of Keith Rhebb)
Rhebb said several of the greens had developed slopes of as much as 4 or 5 degrees in areas, rendering them unpinnable as the surfaces approached Tour speeds because balls wouldn’t stop rolling. Those slopes were the result of nearly 30 years of top-dressing with sand and other common maintenance procedures that buried some contours and steepened others. The green contours also no longer properly flowed into the contours outside the greens.
The crew utilized laser scanning and 3D computer modeling before starting work, then recreated slopes of around 3 degrees that extended playable green surfaces and opened up new hole locations.
“When we cored out those greens, it was almost like the rings of a tree. You could see the years of buildup,” Rhebb said. “What should be about 18 inches at most of the green surface mix, there was in spots two feet or more of mix in the greens. With almost 30 years of top-dressing, it was just time to come back and renovate these greens.”
